Council backs Barrier-Free campaign

Share

City council gave unanimous support Tuesday to a campaign calling on the province to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities.

A request for support for the Barrier-Free B.C. campaign came from Vern Short of the Kamloops White Cane Club, who said B.C. needs a disabilities act similar to those in Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, which safeguard against discrimination.

Barrier-Free B.C. is a nonpartisan campaign launched this spring, asking the provincial government to “Just Say Yes” to 13 principles on which new legislation should be based.

“A provincewide campaign is building,” Short said. “B.C. does not have such legislation.”

That means if any of 604,000 B.C. residents who live with disability should want to challenge discrimination, they have to file a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights tribunal, a costly, onerous and lengthy process, Short said.

He cited the example of visually impaired people with guide dogs who have been refused cab rides as well as the need for large print on product labels.

The 13 principles include a timeline for achieving a “barrier-free” province. More information can be found here: http://barrierfreebc.org/our-principles/.

The federal government is conducting cross-country consultations prior to introducing national legislation, Short added.

Grouchy 1 says:
August 18, 2016 09:21am

There is already a law about where service dogs are allowed, it is just not enforced, and where people can file complaints seems to be a state secret also.

Larger print on items in the store ? Just not possible on some products, given the amount of info required to be printed on the labels, and the size of the item being sold.

I support the Barrier-free ideal, but some of what is wanted will not be achievable due to the age of buildings, lack of space for improvements, and finally, for some, the high cost of implementing what is wanted.